US court slashes damages that SAP has to pay Oracle

SAP has said it is 'gratified', following a US court ruling that it should pay just $272m of the original $1.3bn awarded

Software giant SAP said it is "gratified" today, after last November's court decision – that it would have to pay $1.3bn (£800m) in damages to rival company Oracle – was overturned.

The damages were awarded for copyright infringement, following Oracle's claim that SAP's TomorrowNow software-maintenance unit had illegally downloaded and copied its own software, meaning SAP's customers were able to avoid paying license fees for the services.

In yesterday's decision, made by US district judge Phyllis Hamilton in a court in Oakland, California, the original $1.3bn was reduced to $272m. This followed an 11-day trial.

Hamilton said the original sum was "grossly excessive" and that SAP should get a new trial for damages if Oracle rejected her ruling.

SAP issued the following statement on the matter: "We are very gratified with the court's decision. We agree with the court's statement that 'the verdict grossly exceeded the actual harm to Oracle'. We believed the jury's verdict was wrong and are pleased with the significant reduction in damages. We hope the court's action will help drive this matter to a final resolution."